Chapter 23

Twenty-Three

~ Princess Blake ~

It takes the rest of the day, and part of the night for us to reach the moat that stretches around the castle, and we stop a short distance away. The drawbridge is down but considering the smeared blood and marks on the aged wood, I’m guessing there’s something in the wide stretch of still black water that surrounds the castle walls. Of course, there is.

“Whoa, we’re not walking across that are we?” Shade asks.

I stretch my wings. “Don’t worry. We can fly, remember?”

She sighs in my head, and I turn to face the guys. I get the feeling that none of them are overly keen about being here, but no one’s complaining. Not even Alaric, who I had thought would have changed his mind by now. I guess when it comes down to it, we all know this is the fastest way for us to get out of Perstalia.

“So, I think it’s safe to assume that the bridge is a death trap,” I point out, hooking my thumb over my shoulder to indicate to the drawbridge. “But, luckily, some of us have wings, so we can carry you across and set down inside the walls.”

“I’m not being carried like an infant,” Alaric grumbles.

I plant a hand on my hip. The urge to tell him to stay behind is on the tip of my tongue, but without him, we can’t seal the fated mates bond. Without him, I won’t be able to unlock my power. It’s bad enough that Prince Callan is still resistant to the idea, but I thought I’d gotten through to the assassin. Our fates are entwined, whether he likes it or not.

Nate crosses his arms. The shifter is wearing the clothes of a dead alpha we passed on our way here, and it’s strange seeing him without his midriff showing. He tips his head toward Alaric. “I’m with him. Cats aren’t meant to fly.” His gaze slides to Prince Callan. “Besides, I’m not puttin’ my life in his hands.”

Prince Callan’s eyes darken. “Now, I think that’s the smartest thing you’ve said so far.”

I roll my eyes and turn my attention to where Dante has been silently observing us. “And what about you? Anything you want to complain about?”

His dark eyes glimmer with amusement, and he taps his chin with his finger, his expression becoming thoughtful. “Mmmm, no I’m more than happy to be air lifted over these walls if it means lessening the time until I’m between your thighs.”

My cheeks heat, my body warming at the thought of him between my legs again, and the other guys glare at him.

“Oh, now that’s a reply worthy of a fated mate,” Shade swoons.

“What?” Dante says to the others with a devilish smirk. “Some of you might have convinced yourselves you don’t want this, but I’ve tasted my princess, and I’ll happily spend my life making her scream my name.”

“Fucking demons,” Alaric growls and drops the leather satchel he’s been holding before pulling out the two swords at his sides. Cracking his neck, he doesn’t even spare me another glance before he strides forward and steps out onto the bridge.

I don’t try to stop him. If he’s not willing to be carried, this is the only way across. Still, my breath catches in my throat as I watch him take one step after the other. He moves carefully, his gaze sharp and alert, and his steps light despite his large size.

“Bastard has balls,” Dante comments.

Nate only waits a moment before he starts stripping off his clothes. When he’s fully naked, he winks at me. “When it’s my turn with you, I’ll make sure you forget his name and only remember mine. See you on the other side, gorgeous.”

Dante smirks wickedly. “Something tells me she’ll want to forget more than that when she’s with you.”

Shade’s laughter fills my head, and Nate glowers at the demon before turning to Prince Callan. “Here hang on to these, will ya,” he says and shoves his clothes into the prince’s hands. Before Prince Callan can complain, Nate’s body is shifting until he’s a giant cat again.

Prince Callan narrows his eyes as Nate nudges me with his nose, and my face flushes as a deep rumbling sound vibrates in the cat’s chest. Then Nate turns from me and starts crossing the bridge, his paws silent on the decayed wood. His long strides bring him closer to where Alaric is already halfway across, and for a moment, I think nothing bad is going to happen. That is, until the black water starts bubbling, and something large moves under the surface. Ah, fuck.

“I do hope you weren’t expecting them to live,” Prince Callan says unhelpfully as he drops Nate’s clothes, letting them fall to the ground.

“They aren’t just my mates,” I point out as I pick up the clothes and bundle them in my arms. “You’re bound to them too, and if they die, we all lose.”

Dante mutters a curse like he’d been purposely trying to forget that part, and he reaches for his sword at the same time as I do.

The bubbles reach the bridge, and I launch into the air as four giant tentacles spear from the water, rising up on either side of the bridge. “Run!” I yell at Alaric and Nate.

Alaric slices through a massive, wet tentacle aimed for him, leaps over another one, and rolls before cleaving into a third tentacle that swipes toward him. Nate roars and slashes at a tentacle with his front paws, but one of the other tentacles moves away from Alaric and goes for the shifter, wrapping around my mate’s torso and lifting him high into the air. My heart lurches as he struggles and the tentacle rushes downward, smashing the shifter’s body against the bridge. Nate roars again, his fangs sinking into blubbery flesh as he’s lifted back into the air. The tentacle swings from side to side, but it doesn’t loosen.

Two of the other tentacles rush at Alaric again, and he dodges away from one, only to be picked up by the other.

“No!” Shade laments in my head. “Tentacles aren’t meant to be scary! Books have taught me they’re for good times!”

I have no idea what she’s on about, and I don’t ask as I rush toward the monster with my sword brandished before me. Swooping down, I slice through the massive tentacle holding Nate, severing the circular suckers as I cut clean through the flesh. The detached tentacle loosens as it falls, and Nate jumps back to the bridge, landing on his feet. Something screams below the water, and huge bubbles rise to the surface as the water ripples.

Using his blade, Alaric cuts himself free, but another tentacle is quick to wrap around him. It winds around his body, pinning his arms to his sides, and he shouts something that I can’t hear over the din of the creature’s cries.

Four more tentacles spring from the water as Prince Callan launches into the sky, flying lower toward Alaric. Two tentacles go for the archangel, and he uses wind power to batter away a tentacle that rushes his right side. The tentacle rears back in the air, but another comes from behind and slams into him with enough force that it sends him careening downward. Dammit. I angle down to try and catch him, but the prince flaps his wings, steadying himself and rising just before he hits the black water.

“Blake!” Shade’s shrill warning is in my head as she flaps high above me, not willing to get close to the monster. I turn to see Alaric’s still struggling against the tightening hold of a tentacle, his face reddening. Nate is pacing at the other end of the bridge, but he doesn’t move to help.

“What the fuck? Does he not get that if one of us dies, it’ll suck for all of us?”

I pivot, soaring toward Alaric with my sword, and this time it’s Dante who bellows a warning right before the water explodes. A wave of water sprays into the air as the head of the massive monster rises from the moat, huge milky white eyes fixing on us as its massive maw opens revealing a set of razor-sharp teeth.

Merciful Lady Fate, the creature is large enough it could swallow us all whole.

The monster drags the tentacle holding Alaric closer to its fanged mouth, and I beat my wings harder as my heart pounds in my ears. Alaric snarls, trying to twist and wiggle himself free, but it’s not helping.

A tentacle flies toward me, and I maneuver in the air, lashing out with my blade. This only angers the creature, and two more tentacles aim for me. One wraps around my legs, and Nate’s roar comes to me from across the bridge.

Alaric is pulled closer to the creature’s jaws, and I watch in horror as my fated mate is powerless to stop it. I slice against the tentacle holding me, but as soon as it falls away another one wraps around my waist, while another binds my legs again. Nate’s clothes slip from my arms, and I’m dragged downward, but a floating blade severs one of the tentacles from below. Green ichor sprays onto Dante’s invisible body, coating enough of him that I can make out an outline.

Nate races across the bridge and leaps, clawing and chomping on the other tentacle until I’m freed, but more tentacles appear, binding me.

Dante and Nate work to try and free me, but I shout, telling them to get Alaric. Prince Callan flies toward the assassin again as the male’s feet near the creature’s gigantic tongue, and Alaric’s gaze connects with mine. There’s a flicker of hatred in his eyes, but then the tentacles around me squeeze tighter, and I cry out as some of my ribs snap. Alaric growls, his eyes igniting with fury, and then his body grows, rapidly increasing in size. The tentacles are forced to release him as his limbs grow larger, and the male turns into a massive giant. Standing tall, he becomes the height of the castle walls, and he grabs onto the tentacles that are holding me and he squeezes until the blubbery flesh explodes, ichor spurting onto his thick arms.

Freed, I flap my wings, catching myself before I fall, and the sea creature omits a sound that makes my ears bleed. Prince Callan shouts something and lifts his hands. Using his magic, he creates a wind tunnel to surround the beast, absorbing the sound. It must amplify the noise for the beast, as the creature thrashes, its bloodied tentacles swiping wildly through the air. Alaric snarls as he punches the creature, sending the beast flying backward into the water, and the world grows quiet as the creature disappears below the surface.

None of us waste time. I fly to the other end of the drawbridge and as soon as we’re all across, Alaric reaches for the iron crank system. The rusted chains rattle as he lifts the drawbridge, sealing us within the castle walls.

Shade flies down, letting out a stream of panicked comments in my head before settling on my shoulder. Nate shifts back, standing there completely naked, and Dante turns visible again, his clothes coated with green ichor. Prince Callan smooths his hair looking way too relaxed, and Alaric returns to his smaller form. The silver cuffs are no longer on his wrists, and I let out a shaky breath.

“Well, that was a shit show,” I say, because if it wasn’t for Alaric, who knows what might have happened.

“That wasn’t just a monster,” Prince Callan discusses calmly. “That was one of the deadliest sea beasts from Norso. They have powerful natural healing abilities, and it won’t be long until the creature is back to its full strength.”

Alaric nods, agreeing with the archangel’s statement.

“When we’re back in Seral and this is over, I’ll organize for the creature to be returned home,” I say. “King Dalton must have bribed some natives from Norso to help transfer it here. It shouldn’t be too hard to find out who they are.”

“Blake, it looks like we’re not the only ones who made it,” Shade says grimly, and I turn, my lips thinning when I take note of the three alphas around the bailey—the open area that’s like a courtyard stretching around the castle. Two of the alphas are missing limbs and lying in pools of blood, but the third is propped up against the castle wall.

“This one’s still alive,” Nate says, inspecting the third alpha. I move closer to see the shifter is breathing harshly. The male’s eyes are closed, and it’ll take a good while for the wound on his chest to heal, but he’ll be fine.

“Should you check to see if he’s your mate?” Nate says, grabbing the alpha and bringing him closer to me. The male’s head lolls to the side, and I make a face.

“Don’t do that,” I chastise.

“Do what?” Nate asks, holding out the shifter like he’s expecting me to take a whiff.

“That,” I say, indicating to the poor male who doesn’t realize he’s being manhandled. “He’s not my mate.” I could tell from the moment I moved close to him.

“Okay, if you say so,” Nate says and drops the shifter with a thud to the ground. Then he starts stripping off the guy’s shirt.

“What are you doing?” I hiss.

“Well, I’m not goin’ to wear their clothes, now am I?” he defends, gesturing with his head to the other two mutilated alphas whose clothes are torn and bloody. “And seein’ as the archangel couldn’t handle the simple task of bringin’ the outfit I was wearin’ before, this’ll have to do.”

I roll my eyes, but I don’t point out that I was the one who dropped his clothes into the water. When Nate’s finished dressing, I groan and prop the unconscious alpha back against the wall, because the poor guy has clearly been through enough already. As I go to step back, I freeze. A short distance away, another one of my black feathers lies discarded on the stones, and my heart skips a beat. It’s the third I’ve lost since we’ve been in Perstalia, and I can’t shake the sense of foreboding creeping over me.

Alaric watches me carefully, but he doesn’t say anything.

When Nate finishes tying the straps on his new pants he grins. “All right then, who’s ready to head back to Seral?”

I clear my throat. “We have to survive the castle first,” I point out, striding away from the feather, and peering up at the giant structure looming over us. Despite the worn stone, the tall white towers gleam in the watery moonlight that streams through the clouds above, and crystals sparkle in the crevices between the bricks. The last time I was here, I couldn’t stop marveling at the place, but now just the sight of it fills me with dread. Mentally, I run through the different kinds of monsters Dad might have lured inside. Truthfully, he would have chosen monsters that tested anyone who entered, but now that I’m standing before the castle, I’m almost certain he expected me to come here. Just as I’m certain there’s something nasty planted inside especially for me.

Pivoting, I smack my lips together and address my mates. “All right, I think we all know we’re not going to survive this unless we work together, so I think it’s time to set down some ground rules.”

They all look at me as if I’m overreacting, but no one protests, so I forge on. I hold up a finger. “Rule number one: Don’t get separated. Inside, it’s a maze of rooms and corridors, and I don’t want to have to go searching when you end up somewhere you don’t want to be.” I pace and hold up another finger. “Rule number two: Don’t touch anything. To this day, no one has explored all of the rooms in the castle because of the suspected ancient booby traps that haven’t been activated.”

“Traps? What kind of castle is this?” Nate grumbles.

Prince Callan smirks. “Concerned, Nine Lives?”

Nate’s slitted gaze shifts to the archangel. “Curious.”

Ignoring them, I continue on, holding up a third finger. “Rule number three: Work on keeping each other alive. You don’t have to like each other, but if anyone dies, we’re all affected, so get your heads out of your asses and don’t just stand there if someone’s about to be eaten.” I glare at Nate now, but he only gives me a shit-eating grin.

“Lastly,” I say, lifting a fourth finger, “rule number four: Don’t die.” You’d think I wouldn’t have to make this point, but considering the fiasco on the bridge, I’m starting to wonder about some of my mates.

“I hate to break it to you, but I don’t think they’re listening,” Shade says sympathetically as Prince Callan makes a snide remark about Nate not deserving to live, and the shifter shoots back a retort. I sigh and turn to the door at the base of the castle. If I were alone, I’d fly around the building and enter through one of the tower windows, but that’s not happening. Yay, I think sarcastically.Looks like we’re going through the front door.